PALO ALTO MEDICAL Foundation (PAMF) has proposed an 18-acre medical complex for San Carlos. PAMF is a subsidiary of Sutter Health, and I am concerned about the pricing strategies Sutter has used in recent years and what that bodes for the services San Carlos and county residents may be receiving in years to come.

According to a CalPERS and Blue Shield study in 2004, Sutter Health’s costs are 60 percent higher than its Northern California peers and 80 percent higher than the statewide average. Is that a good neighbor policy, or is it a corporate, profit-driven strategy? Who is overseeing Sutter and making sure that they carry out the charter of public service that is the basis of their nonprofit status? Could it be that Sutter’s higher charges are the reason for their 33 percent increase in “profits” in 2006?

I want to see our San Carlos and San Mateo County leaders scrutinize this Sutter and PAMF proposal (over which San Carlos controls crucial zoning upgrades) while they have leverage over one of the largest corporations in Northern California, not after. It’s good public service to play hard ball with corporations like Sutter that play hard ball all the time. We just cannot afford, quite literally, to let PAMF and Sutter’s marketing run roughshod over the facility entitlement process that ought to be serving the residents of San Carlos and the county.

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